Detroit Tigers' Jim Leyland: Team's current struggles have nothing to do with Brandon Inge

AP PhotoBrandon Inge takes a cut at a pitch Tuesday night in a 7-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

DETROIT -- Brandon Inge is hitting .100 and has had a couple of missteps at second base.

The Detroit Tigers have lost four of their past five games.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland believes those two points are unrelated.

Leyland discussed Inge at length Tuesday night following his team's 7-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

Leyland said he knows many Tigers fans seem to focus their ire on Inge when there are several reasons unrelated to Inge that explain why the Tigers have lost four of their past five.

"Sometimes people don't see the forest through the trees," Leyland said. "They just focus on one thing. The fact of the matter is, the Detroit Tigers right now -- the manager and the entire group of players -- are not doing enough to win games. That's what it is."

Inge doubled -- it was just his second hit of the season -- on a shot to deep center Tuesday night that glanced off the glove of Mariners outfielder Michael Saunders. He scored the first run for the Tigers.

He also misplayed a ball on what should have been a double play and couldn't find the handle on a slow-roller with Ichiro Suzuki racing down the line to first. (That play was ruled a hit. Leyland agreed with the ruling.)

"Inge hit a double tonight," Leyland said. "Inge was 1-for-2 tonight. He didn't make one double play. Big deal. It was a left-handed pitcher. He almost hit the ball out of the ballpark. He hit a ball out of the ballpark in Kansas City to win the game against the left-hander.

"I don't think we always focus on the right thing. I'm focusing on the fact that right now our combinations aren't very good, but to me it doesn't have anything to do with Brandon Inge. That's just the way I feel about it.

"In my opinion, Brandon Inge has not really had anything to do with us losing four out of five. Has he helped a lot? No. He hasn't. But in my opinion, I don't think he's had a lot to do with us (losing four of five)."

Inge has been a polarizing figure in Detroit sports for some time, but it seems that he has been ripped by Tigers fans on sports talk radio and booed by Tigers fans at Comerica Park more in recent days than in the past.

Leyland said Tuesday that fans seem to be overestimating Inge's effect on whether the team wins or loses and that the ultimate fate of the 2012 Tigers depends more on other players.

"It's not about Brandon Inge, per se. Or Ryan Raburn, per se," Leyland said. "They're not the only guys that have made outs with men on base. They're not the only guys who haven't been hitting. … If you're (angry) because the Tigers are losing right now, personally I don't think it makes sense to take it all out on Brandon Inge, because I don't think that's the reason the Tigers are losing right now."

Inge has never hit for a high average, but he did average 17 home runs and 70 RBIs over a span of seven seasons for the Tigers before struggling horribly in 2011. He hit .197 with three home runs and 23 RBIs last season, then seemingly lost his position when the Tigers signed Prince Fielder and moved Miguel Cabrera to third base in the offseason.

But the Tigers gave Inge a shot at second base in spring training. He played well defensively during Grapefruit League action but hit .180 during the spring -- .250 vs. left-handers.

Leyland has said all along that he will use Inge primarily against left-handers. He has not wavered from that point or the belief that Inge can help the team in that role.

"I think Brandon Inge can be a contributor, particularly against left-handed pitching," he said. "But I truly believe that there's too much focus on Brandon Inge's impact right now on this team. He can help us, but if we don't do good it won't be because Brandon Inge doesn't do good, in my opinion."

Leyland did say that players -- all players -- have to produce.

"I do agree with this," Leyland said. "Up here, it's about production, but I think it's a little early to say that somebody's not going to produce something or enough to help you. If it comes to that point with any player, you do something about it."

Here are some more of Leyland's comments on Inge:

-- "I'm not asking anyone to change their opinions -- I'm talking about fan-wise -- but I think they're carried away with the impact. That's what I mean. I think people have to understand that it's never one guy that's going to make you win and it's not one guy that's going to make you lose. I think Brandon can contribute."

-- "For some reason, it seems like every town picks a guy. It just seems to be one of the things that happens, and it seems like they've targeted him. I can't figure some of it out, but I do think it's over-exaggerated. I think we have more with the Tigers to talk about than that situation."

-- "I think you evaluate your team situation and if you feel that somebody's not contributing then you do something different. But I think in the case of tonight, you had the one double-play ball that was hit hard. The one with Ichiro to me is, I don't know many guys who make that play. With Ichiro running, who can fly, you're trying to make a heck of a play. They gave him a hit on the ball, which they should have."

-- "I personally think that, to me, we should be zeroing in on the fact that, right now, we're not winning instead of Brandon's situation. That seems to happen in sports, whether it be the manager or a certain player. That seems to happen and people get on it and just don't get off of it. I'm not telling anybody to get off of it or anything else, I'm just saying how I feel about it. That won't be the difference whether we win or lose, in my opinion. We've got a lot of guys that have to do pretty well if we're going to win."

-- "I don't think Inge has swung as bad as the average shows and I don't think Raburn has either. But people are all hyped up (about the team), and they should be. We're not perfect. We all know that. And we all know that this is not going to be easy, but everybody's hyped up. But sometimes people don't see the forest through the trees. They just focus on one thing. The fact of the matter is, the Detroit Tigers right now -- the manager and the entire group of players -- are not doing enough to win games."